Vanderbilt hoping to be ready for Florida's new offense

First-year Vanderbilt coach Robbie Caldwell admitted this week that he's happy to see Florida starting to get its act together after going through a three game losing streak.

He just wishes that maybe the Gators could have waited until after they play the Commodores on Saturday.

"I've been very proud watching them progress,'' Caldwell said. "Obviously I'd prefer it didn't happen before we played them. But it's impressive to see how much progress they've made playing some of the younger players they've been playing.''

Florida has played 17 freshman this season, Vanderbilt has played 15. But the Commodores are still struggling with their inexperienced players.

Vanderbilt has spent much of the week trying to prepare for Florida's no-huddle, up-tempo offense, which the Gators debuted against Georgia last week. Caldwell said the new offense will present a challenge for the Commodores. Vanderbilt is last in the SEC in total defense, giving up 441 yards per game.

"We've tried to do a little bit (of preparation), and use our defense to practice at it,'' Caldwell said. "We've played some teams that have tried to speed things up. But it's a different pace when you've got a team, they know what they are doing, they've been doing it a long time. We'll have to be on our P's and Q's for sure.''

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